Genstar Generator Service
Going it alone often proves to be a failed growth strategy for all too many entrepreneurs and small business owners. On the other hand, finding mentors, coaches, and advisors can become the key to both the short-term and long-term success they seek. For Lance Metcalfe, owner and founder of Genstar Generator Service, bringing in Edgardo Rodriguez as his general manager was a big step forward. When Rodriguez subsequently enlisted the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and its award-winning Advisory Board Council (ABC) program for support, Genstar was on its way to the growth it sought and the exit strategy Metcalfe desired.
Genstar Generator Service has proudly served Central Florida since 2002. As a factory authorized dealer employing factory certified technicians, its knowledgeable team of experts is available to help customers with all of their generator installation, maintenance, and repair needs anytime – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “What makes Genstar unique is our customer service,” explains Rodriguez, “Lance started the company with that in mind and every employee understands it is paramount.” “What really makes us unique,” laughed Metcalfe, “is we answer the telephone with a live person every time. No telephone trees. No answering service. You get someone on the line every time you call, whether its during business hours or after hours at our emergency service number.”
Fast forward 20+ years and, despite a lot of success, Metcalfe decided his company was ready for more and that he would need help to achieve this. “In the beginning when Genstar was founded,” he recalls, “you would call it a ‘Mom & Pop’ operation. We really didn’t have the structure it takes to grow. We brought Edgardo on board because he had experience in company growth. He knew about the SBDC and was able to bring them in and make use of the resources they provide.”
“We came to the SBDC because we needed to grow,” Rodriguez affirms. “I had experience with them before and knew they had the tools and programs that we were looking for.” Specifically, Genstar took advantage of the FSBDC’s Advisory Board Council program led by program manager Jill Kaufman. ABC offers small business owners the opportunity to work with a customized board of experts providing advice to help businesses grow – all at no cost. The FSBDC acts as a matchmaker between established local businesses like Genstar and area professionals who volunteer their expertise and are purposefully selected to address the specific needs of the FSBDC client.
“Our Advisory Board was composed of different experts with different skills, including accounting, finance, sales, marketing and general business professionals, that Jill put together thinking of what we needed to meet our goals,” Rodriguez commented. “They served as a sounding board from whom you receive advice and counsel. The Advisory Board was there to help us, guide us, to tell us if we were going in the right direction or not. It wasn’t always easy but that’s what they were there for and I was very appreciative.”
“Three or four years ago, Edgardo came on board to help us and brought us together with the FSBDC and the Advisory Board,” Metcalfe expounded. “He took us from being a $1 million company to a $5 million dollar company, from 5 employees to 20 plus employees. He did it in just a few years with the SBDC’s Advisory Board’s help and that was exactly what we wanted.”
“The ultimate goal as an owner of Genstar was to find an exit strategy,” continued Metcalfe. “The SBDC helped us grow into a viable company that could serve as a platform for an equity capital company who acquired us and has used Genstar as the base from which to acquire other companies to grow into the largest generator company in Florida. If I had to use one word to describe the FSBDC, it would be ‘lucky’,” Metcalfe concluded. “Not that the SBDC is ‘lucky’ but that Genstar was lucky. ‘Lucky’ that Edgardo was aware of the SBDC and that he had the knowledge to use the SBDC as a resource to bring us to exactly where we were trying to go.”
For information about Genstar Generator Service, please visit https://genstarservice.com/.
